'But Russia is not that far away. It borders our Arctic frontier. It’s
a country with which we have conflicting claims over sovereignty of the
Arctic sea-bed and, perhaps, its waters. And it’s a country that has
shown itself prepared to use military force to satisfy its territorial
ambitions.

'There is a growing consensus the Harper government’s hard line over
events in Ukraine is going to require a radical new defence doctrine,
prepared for the contingency of an expansionist Russia.

'Stephen Harper has soured on NATO, viewing it through the prism of
Afghanistan, where the alliance was deemed to have placed an undue
burden on a small number of participating members.'